Cummings' Late Goal Gives Rapids 1-1 Tie with FC Dallas

June 27, 2010

COMMERCE CITY CO - The Colorado Rapids were within six minutes of seeing their seven-match undefeated streak screech to a halt when Omar Cummings broke in alone on goal and gave the club a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas on Wednesday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

It was a hard-fought draw for the Rapids who worked relentlessly to establish command of the pace for much of the first half only to see the momentum swing suddenly in FCD's favor in the 37th minute as David Ferreira lifted a ball over the head of Colorado 'keeper Matt Pickens for a 1-0 lead.

After the visitors had taken the lead they had seen their attack stifled by the Rapids until Cooper carried forward on the right flank and cut inside before firing a rising shot that Pickens was able to make look easier than it was. Colorado took the ball to the other end and Cummings finished off a nice movement for his sixth goal of the year.

Cummings broke through the Dallas defense in the 84th minute to latch onto a Mehdi Ballouchy through ball and deftly delivered a shot inside the empty right corner of the net leveling the score and eventually giving the Rapids the spark to extend their undefeated streak.

The Rapids nearly found a go-ahead goal two minutes later as Pablo Mastroeni passed wide to Colin Clark on the left wing and Clark delivered a perfect center to Cummings who took a hard header just wide of the left post.

Up until Dallas' go-ahead goal Colorado had built an edge on the field keeping the pressure on FCD and keeping them from threatening the Rapids' nets.

The Rapids didn't exactly dominate on possession but they kept the ball out of their back third and consistently built better and better opportunities coming closer and closer to finding the elusive finishing touch.

Nick LaBrocca and Clark were in the thick of the early action taking eight first-half shots between them with LaBrocca's five leading all players as the Rapids outshot Dallas 10-4 in the first half.

Cummings evaded a pair of defenders in the 21st minute and sent a pass to LaBrocca 20 yards from the goal on the right. LaBrocca took a hard shot at Ray Burse in the FC Dallas net but to no avail.

The Rapids threatened again in the 25th minute as Pat Noonan brought the ball down on the right chipped over to Clark on the left and Clark took a hard shot toward the right post missing wide.

Despite keeping pressure on FCD's back four Colorado seemed inclined toward too many touches in front of the net sliding off a pass when a shot was in order.

In the 60th minute the Rapids were still suffering from an urge to be too fine with Cummings taking the ball up the middle and sending a perfect pass out to a wide-open LaBrocca closing on the net from the right. Rather than take the shot LaBrocca slipped a pass in front of Clark on the left and the sliding Clark couldn't get a foot on it before it rolled over the goal line.

Looking for a spark in the 62nd minute head coach Gary Smith sent Jacob Peterson into the game for LaBrocca.

Peterson made an impact a few minutes later feeding Cummings as he sprung down the right. Cummings took aim at the left corner but shot wide causing another Rapids shooter to hold his head in frustration.

Terry Cooke came on for Pat Noonan in the 71st minute electrifying the crowd and taking a pair of corner kicks within a minute of stepping on the field.

One of Colorado's last best chances came in the 81st minute as Cooke took another corner collecting the rebound and sending it back in front of the net where Ugo Ihemelu headed it hard for the empty left corner but shot wide.

Both sides finished with an all-out effort to earn the full three points with Colorado threatening on an stoppage-time corner kick and FC Dallas threatening on a break in the final seconds but the match stayed even with Colorado maintaining a 3-0-3 record at home this season.